The Spirit of Progression
by Hango
Summary: Azula is in trouble - her father wants to force her into a marriage. But there is someone else who wants the girl, someone over whom Ozai has no power... Three-shot, pre-ATLA.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own ATLA. Rated T because of some violence in upcoming parts**

**The Spirit of Progression**

**I.**

Crossing the threshold of the throne room, and walking past the columns holding the ceiling, Azula was self-confidence itself. She approached the flames which separated the Fire Lord from the world below, seeking his father, the new master of the land of the Fire Nation.

Being the daughter of a Fire Lord had its certain advantages. While Ty Lee was often ambushed by moronic children, and even got her long braid pulled by them, Azula was completely safe. When it came to her, even the boldest boys wouldn't dare to cross that line since Ozai's coronation.

_Boys are stupid_, Azula thought. _Especially Zuko and his foolish uncle. The only exception I can name is dad. I don't understand why boys are in charge! This is another thing which has to change. _

Azula halted in front of the throne, and she looked through the wall of flames, and tried to spot her father. But Ozai's form remained hidden in shadows.

"Azula!" The man's deep voice was to be heard at once. "Why are you standing where the worthless nobles and other pests do? Come to me!"

Azula's lips pulled into a smirk, and the only reason why she didn't break into a run while climbing the few stairs leading to the throne was pride. She felt that kind of behavior was beneath her. Thus she moved towards the fiery barrier with slow, yet confident steps, and with an elegant movement of the hand, she waved at the blazing fire.

_Other girls ask for a puppy, _she mused, _but no pet can be compared to fire. It's way more loyal, and you don't even have to feed it, at least not with food._

To demonstrate her skills, she bent the flames to create only a narrow hole in their thick mass, which was nevertheless fairly enough for her to walk through it safely. She nearly chuckled, feeling the nice warmth of the fire tickling the bare skin of her arm.

In the meantime, Ozai stood up, to greet his beloved daughter. The tallish man with long, black beard and hair was wearing a long, silk robe. The luxurious garment would've been inevitably swallowed by the flames if Ozai would have tried to do the same trick which Azula did.

"You're speaking the language of your element in a magnificently natural way, my daughter! Such a bond between you and fire is rare, even among accomplished bending masters. You are very talented" said Ozai, flashing a proud smile at Azula, while the girl stood in front of him, and bowed her head, with respect to the protocol.

"I know" answered Azula simply, and she obeyed when her father insisted that she should've sat in his lap. She turned her head, and looked through the flaming obstacles once more.

The princess of the Fire Nation imagined that people were standing behind that wall of fire. Nobles, officers, politicians, clerks, mere filthy peasants… Each of them looking at their master with respect rooted in the dark, nutritious soil of fear.

No matter this was the best place she's ever been to, it was not enough. She wanted to experience that respect someday.

"And hopefully you also know that a woman's duty is not to fight, according to our traditions. And while we are more wise and reasonable than those senile old men at the Northern Water Tribe… the convention is nonetheless living. And it is more of a prohibition, when it comes to a member of an important family, I'm afraid" said Ozai nonchalantly.

Azula looked at her father, with fear glimmering in her amber eyes. It was not that hard for her to figure out the hidden meaning within Ozai's words.

"Father… I think you're wrong".

Ozai winced, and he knitted his brow. He couldn't tolerate anyone contradicting him, and no one had the guts to do so, save his own daughter. Therefore Azula was prepared for the worst.

But there was nothing, not even a single slap in the face. Ozai was waiting silently for her daughter to explain herself.

"I have to learn how to fight! I really am talented" the girl said, and she turned around in order to be able to look into Ozai's relentless orbs. "And I love you, father. I know you have enemies all around. I swear I'd never be one of them. When everyone else had turned against you, I'd still be on your side. In that case, a good bender would be useful, right?"

Ozai raised a surprised eyebrow, understanding that his daughter was completely serious.

"You are maybe too young to understand this" said Ozai with a sigh ", but there are other methods of gaining and preserving power besides violence. For example creating formal connections with others. I'm talking about family, for instance. In our kingdom, blood is traditionally a strong bond…"

"Do you know how the komodo rhinos are tamed?" Azula interrupted him. Yet another thing no one else dared.

"Of course I do" answered Ozai, raising his voice, which set off the alarm inside of Azula. "What is this all about?"

"The world" said the girl, gesturing towards all over the place "is populated by rhinos. And I think rhinos should be treated as such. If they behave well, they should be rewarded. On the other hand, if they fail to obey… then they should be treated the same way every stableman treats rhinos. Using pure, brutal force".

"Spectacular metaphor, but I must assure you, I know how to be a Fire Lord…"

"I apologize" said Azula perplexedly, and she tried to gather her thoughts. "I didn't want to be impolite. But the point is that it seems to me you want to treat rhinos as if they were dragons. But the two species are not the same. Even the female dragon is a greater beast than the male rhino, no matter how magnificent that rhino is. A dragon… cannot let a rhino into its lair!"

Ozai's eyes widened, understanding that Azula figured out his intention which he hasn't even voiced yet. That he did agree with one of the most influential politicians of the Fire Nation to the engagement of the man's son and Azula…

"Just imagine a world, father, where the dragon did that" Azula carried on absentmindedly. "The rhinos would be convinced they were dragons, so they'd jump down from high places because they'd think they could fly. This wouldn't be a good world, not even for the Rhinos".

"Noble families have fine young sons" said Ozai, desperate to sound convincing. He's become a bit tired of Azula's games by now. "I'm sure there will be someone who'd… fit your high expectations".

"Well that is exactly the problem. There's no one" said Azula, and shook her head violently. "All of them are rhinos. They may wear shiny, sparkling scales on the outside, but beneath the armor they reek and have parasites".

"I really do hope you understand that it is not you who'll make the decision" said Ozai strictly.

"Of course" Azula shrugged carelessly. "I already told that I love you, and I don't want to cause trouble. I know such marriage would be useful. It'd silence some sad excuses for human beings at the royal court".

Suddenly Azula slid off Ozai's knee, and she stood there, staring at her father with a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"I'm going. Mai's mother invited me over to have tea" she said, recalling the woman's expression, after Azula had 'accidentally' dropped one of her two-hundred-year-old porcelain cups. She had gotten her tea in a wooden mug ever since. "Father…?"

"Yes?" Ozai said, and he seemingly tried to ignore the fact that her daughter had forgotten to ask his permission to leave.

"I hope you know what dragons do to rhinos".

Ozai thought about that. Dragons used to rip rhinos apart, and eat them. He knew that. Of course he did.

* * *

><p><strong>So, this is part one of this three-shot. Also my first ATLA fic published in English, lol... Hopefully not the last :)<br>**

**It was originally one longer story, but I decided to cut it into pieces mainly because I've been too lazy to edit it all at once, lol ^^**

**Now, as long as I know that Azula fics can be quite a dead end, I really do hope you'll find this interesting. Also, some reviews would do nicely! I'll try to put up part two on Friday**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own ATLA.**

**II.  
><strong>

"Who… who's there?"

She'd been against the whole trip from the very beginning. She understood why her uncle Iroh decided to explore some so-called exciting spots in the Earth Kingdom. Pathetic, useless, but rich old persons used to do that all the time, and Iroh, after his failure at the Siege of Ba Sing Se, and dismissal from the Fire Nation Army, was the quintessential example of that kind of person.

It was also understandable why Zuko had wanted to accompany Iroh, given the strong bond between uncle and nephew. Also, Zuko has been feeling down ever since their mother… had gotten into trouble.

He had locked himself up in his room all the time, and Azula, who noticed lots of things which remained unseen to others, had observed that the signature glimmer, which was common among the children of her brother's age, had disappeared from Zuko's eyes without a trace.

What was most disturbing, that Ozai had insisted she should also join Iroh. Azula had the strange feeling, like a spike in the heart, that her father didn't want her in the palace any longer. Maybe she was way too curious about politics and the war going on, considering her age and gender…

_Anyway, this place is just creepy… Incredibly interesting, but also incredibly frightening_, she thought.

Semidarkness reigned over the great halls and narrow hallways, and the walls all around were covered with bookshelves, with thousands and thousands of books and scrolls on them. Azula was a smart child, and she liked to read… well, if it was impossible to gather information in any other way.

She was quite sure if she'd spent too much time in libraries reading books, the world she wanted to know about would be quite different when she'd finally come out from the library.

She became tenser, understanding someone was indeed here with her, and it was certainly not one of her relatives. And also not one of the soldiers coming along with them.

Moreover, Azula had the strange feeling it was not a human who was lurking around under the tall bookshelves. She could feel it in the air, hear the silence of the complete lack of breathing.

It was something utterly strange and unnerving to sense. The old and musty air of the library around her, which smelled like a mixture of the odor of dried-out feces dropped by various rodents, and mildew leading an accomplished and happy life on the sheets of paper, changed all of a sudden, without even moving an inch.

Azula could imagine an invisible thing standing in the corridor, letting the smelly air to flow across its body and to take its terrible, unearthly moist with.

She felt goose bumps appearing on her limbs as she realized if Death had a stench, it would be definitely something like this. She couldn't tell where this thought came from, though.

She considered running away, which was really unlikely; usually others were running from her.

Azula was not a coward. Even the ones who hated her admitted that. But she did fear of things she didn't understand.

And spirits were definitely such things.

Stabbing a human with a knife could easily destroy him or her. But doing the same thing to a spirit wouldn't cause the same outcome.

On the other hand, a spirit which crossed the vast between their world and ours could do serious harm to a human. And no matter how often did Azula cheat in various games, this behavior seemed to be a bit unfair even to her.

"We are here with the permission of Wan Shi Tong" said Azula, pulling herself together. She wanted to take control of the situation, no matter how afraid she was.

Running away would just show she was easy prey.

"I think you should talk to him about whatever complaints you have in connection with us being here. And by the way, I would like to ask you to leave me alone, and let me read in peace. Thank you!"

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you!"

At the end of the hallway, a tall figure leapt out of thin air.

"Though I do understand that something makes people feel… uncomfortable in my presence".

The spirit (because it was quite clear now that it was a spirit) arrived at the luminous circle drew by the crimson and orange flames Azula was bending.

"Father?"

It looked very much like Ozai, and it was really different at the same time. The main difference was in its motion: the spirit-Ozai walked with some weird, mechanical movements, like Azula's father after drinking too much _spirit_.

The creature looked at the young girl standing before it, and it smirked. Azula felt the color draining from her face. The spirit's smile was so similar to Ozai's, it could totally fool Azula, if there weren't the terrible smell and the odd movements.

The man in front of Azula begun to shrink, and the girl took a step backwards instinctively. It was quite extraordinary to see her father becoming a young boy in mere seconds, the process coming to a stop only when he reached age nine or ten.

The child Ozai looked almost like Zuko, save the bit round face and the features which forecasted the appearance of the future Fire Lord. But their build, hair and eyes were much the same.

"I hoped we shall find a common ground easier this way" told the spirit ", Princess Azula, daughter of Ozai".

"So you know my name" said the girl with a frown.

"I know many things about you".

"Well, then it would be kind of you, if you'd tell me yours. If you have one, of course…"

"In the Spirit World, I'm called Jianzhu Shí".

"The Architect…" mumbled Azula. "So, let me guess. It was you who built this library, right?"

"Oh, no, no" answered the spirit, using the immature voice of the young Ozai, and then he let out an inhuman, screeching laugh. Azula wanted to cover her ears with her palms, but her instinct told her she shouldn't. "This library was designed by a long deceased master, a human. A humble subject of a forgotten empire. He built this building… but he did not create the library in it. The library had existed in the Spirit World since the very beginning of time. This building was only needed to make it capable of existing in this world as well".

"Then why…"

Soft noises were to be heard, as others were walking through the hallways nearby, and this time they were human beings. Soon, their voices reached the girl's ears as well:

"Azula! Where are you?"

She looked away for only a second, but it was fairly enough for Ozai to get replaced, and Azula was now looking into her own cold, hollow, amber colored eyes. Her doppelganger was even dressed into the same crimson gown as her.

"It was a pleasure to talk to you, and I wish we'd had more time" said the spirit." But you see, we don't. And I've been waiting far too long to let you leave without me!"

And with that, the intentions of the spirit became as clear as day to Azula. She would be the host for the Architect, just like the building was the home of the library….

"But… why?" inquired Azula, startled. "Why obsess me?"

"I'm the Spirit of Progression" said the fake-Azula. "And I need someone who wants a better world, by any means necessary. You are such a person, aren't you? You want to make fundamental changes, don't you? I can give you all the power you need to reach your goals!"

These words were like music to Azula's ears. It was everything she wanted. Strength, to be able to deal with the imperfection and narrow-mindedness, which she had to face every single day.

And she knew that even power alone won't be enough. People wouldn't understand her noble efforts, her vision, and she'd have to move forward inch by inch, crumbling their resistance with well placed hammer blows…

She was terrified at the thought a spirit would occupy her body, because it was impossible to foresee the effects of that. But she did know that if Jianzhu Shí would not obsess her, she would become the wife of a ridiculous moron twelve years older than her…

"You'd already decided" said the spirit, lurking closer.

Azula didn't even realize, but both of them held up their hands, and the fire she was bending all along now blew out.

But darkness never fell on them, given the eerie blue light which glimmered around the hands of each of them, and when their palms finally connected, a blinding flash of azure brightness filled the black void around the two Azulas.

Azula fell onto her knees, due to a sudden nausea. There was a terrible cramp in her guts, and her muscles trembled as pure energy rushed through her small body. She wanted to cry out loud, but not even a single note was able to leave her dried-out throat.

She felt warm liquid flowing down her leg, and she realized she'd wetted herself.

When the pain subsided, Azula slowly managed to get onto her feet. She was dizzy and felt like throwing up, but she could feel something else as well.

She held out a hand, palm upwards, and inhaled deeply. A small, bluish flame appeared above her palm, not bigger than candlelight, but it was so mind-blowingly warm Azula thought it'd burn her brows if she'd leant too close to it.

She felt unnaturally calm and confident, considering the uneasy situation. She knew for sure that everything will be all right.

She put out the fire, and laid herself at the bottom of a bookshelf, right before the light of a different fire arrived at the spot where she was standing before.

Two people appeared at the end of the corridor, alongside with the flames: a short one, and a bit taller one.

"Ah, there you are! You shouldn't have left us! This library is dange…" Iroh suddenly ceased to speak. "Azula!"

Iroh ducked next to the girl lying in fetal position with her eyes shut, and he checked her pulse. Azula was smiling secretly as Iroh's hand wandered to her forehead. It was not a big deal to make the naturally high body temperature of a firebender even higher.

"She has a fever" said an upset Iroh.

"She also wetted herself" Zuko pointed out, almost joyfully.

"Don't be so insensitive, Prince Zuko!" said Iroh strictly. "She'd probably caught one of those nasty tropical infections".

Iroh gathered the light body of Azula into his arms, and he started walking towards the same direction he arrived from, with Zuko following him.

"Another reason for leaving. We'll show her to the doctor, once we'll get back to the camp".

_Oh no, I knew I'd miss something! Seems like I'll still have to invent a good explanation about what happened, after all, _Azula thought, and she tried to lie in her uncle's arms as limply as it was possible.

* * *

><p>"You've heard it. I want you to bury this building. And you can quote any price you want, I'll pay. This is the best offer you'd ever gotten, I'm sure about that".<p>

The leader of the Sandbenders seemed to be puzzled, as he rubbed his head, covered with a dusty turban, before spitting.

"Even if we could do that… There are other people who want to come here. They pay a lot every time. And they are coming frequently enough to provide a living to our whole tribe".

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough" said Iroh, with mannered calmness in his voice. "You'll bury this library, to prevent anyone from finding it again. Otherwise, I'll come back with a battalion tomorrow, and wipe your tribe out of existence".

The tall desert dweller, dressed in old clothing ruined by the unwelcoming environment he had to live in, stared at the chubby firebender for a while through his goggles before answering:

"We will do our best, Sire. But it will be expensive…"

"That is not your concern. Now, why don't we go back to the Oasis, have a glass of iced tea, and work out the rest of our agreement?"

While the Sandbenders and the soldiers were climbing up to the slightly unstable Sand-Sailors, Iroh went to gather the kids.

He caressed Zuko's raven hair, while looking upon the humongous marble palace of knowledge standing in front of them.

"It has to go" he mused to himself. "The secrets of this library mean danger to the whole world if they fall into wrong hands".

* * *

><p><strong>So here's part two. I understand that maybe some of you wanted to see some TyZula, or at least Ty Lee appearing. Well, I won't ship them since they are freakin young in this fic, but I can write write an extra scene to part three with Ty Lee included, if you want. Please, let me know!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own ATLA.**

**III.**

"They did… what?"

Ty Lee was silenced by Azula's hand, pressing harshly against Ty Lee's lips. The small girl looked at Azula with fear in her big, puppy-dog eyes, as she tried to speak, but failed.

"What are you, crazy?" Azula hissed, though she was overreacting. The courtyard of the Royal Fire Academy was full of children, and they made so much noise it hid their conversation perfectly.

Nevertheless, Azula reduced her best friend to silence. She didn't want anyone to hear them, not even accidentally.

"But this is…" said Ty Lee, when Azula finally let her. "How could your father let it happen! This is humiliating!"

"Yes, it is…" replied Azula absentmindedly.

She thought about the previous day, when the Fire Lord ordered her to the throne room. She had been supposed to take part in a dispute with Zhen Huangniu, leader of the Royal Council.

When she had arrived, it had turned out that the main topic of the discussion would be her person.

"May you please undress yourself" the veteran general had said, after a polite bow of the head. "Princess."

Azula stared calmly, but with curious concern at the weather-beaten old man, who'd been told to have been going through hell during the war in the Earth Kingdom. Ha had been waiting patiently, without any sign of excitement or physical affection towards the young girl.

Azula had taken a look at her father, and had seen Ozai nodding slowly. So, hadn't having any other option, she had let her dressing gown fall to the floor.

Given she hadn't wore any underwear, she had been standing before her future father-in-law stark naked.

"Would you please stand still, Princess?" the old man had said, and he had started to observe the girl from different angles.

If she hadn't been to the library of Wan Shi Tong, she wouldn't have been able to hear what Huangniu had been murmuring, his words had been so silent. But since the visit in the desert, her hearing had become extremely sharp.

"She's tall enough considering her age… But her hips are too narrow… She seems to be likely to get sick…"

He had been practically measuring her, as if he had wanted to buy livestock, or a slave. Surprisingly, Azula hadn't been upset about this. She hadn't even blushed, hearing the remarks upon her body. And she wasn't ashamed now, while summing up the situation to Ty Lee.

"I want to pay Huangniu a visit" Azula told Ty Lee. "I need someone to accompany me… just in case."

"Are you up to something, Azula?" inquired Ty Lee suspiciously.

"When the old man asked me to get naked, I'd run away" lied Azula nonchalantly, without even a single wince or a blink of an eye. "Father told me I have to walk over to his house and apologize."

Azula stared at her naïve friend, and she nearly regretted tricking her. Tears were welling in Ty Lee's big, brown eyes, and said poor girl looked like she would burst out crying at any second. Nevertheless, Azula decided to continue with her playacting, thus she made the most terrified expression she could, and said:

"I'm afraid, Ty Lee… Maybe they'll force me to do something I don't want to. I need someone, who I can trust, to come with me."

"Of course!" exclaimed Ty Lee, and she grasped Azula by the hand. Ty Lee was quite strong, thanks to all the acrobatics she was doing, and apparently excelling at them. "Of course I'll go with you! This is what friends are for, after all…"

"Thank you, Ty Lee! I know you could never leave my side!" said Azula, and she quickly tore Ty Lee's hand off hers. "Let go, here comes Mai! And don't forget: what I've told you must remain our little secret…"

And then they started to chat about their new classmate from the colonies in fake casualness, earning suspicious looks from their pale friend.

* * *

><p>The girl was climbing the stairs slowly. The stairway was quite new and well-built, thus it didn't make any noise at all. Azula was pleased: everything went perfectly well so far.<p>

She walked past the thangkas hanging on the wall of the cloister, which surrounded the quadrangle. There was a light trace of sulfur in the air, thanks to the steams of a hot spring in the middle of the garden, illuminated by the silvery moonlight.

Azula remembered that the wife of Huangniu was complaining to Ursa about that steam killing all the greenery she tried to plant in the atrium, back when her mother used to be… around.

_I do hope Ty Lee arrived home safely, _she thought, stopping for a second, and looking towards the direction of the main gate. Ty Lee did her best distracting the guards, providing the opportunity for Azula to sneak in.

The girl was quite upset, of course when she'd found out Azula lied to her, but nevertheless she helped. Ty Lee was not someone to carry a grudge, she indeed liked, on the other hand, to have fun. And what could be more fun then doing a prank?

Ty Lee was, however, unaware of Azula's real intentions.

Azula thought if she would have to kill Zhijou, son of the old Huangniu, she would drag his body here somehow, and throw him into the fountain. The pest would be literally cooked by the morning. It would be much more effective then just leaving the corpse in the bed.

Exiting the cloister, she found herself in a small entry hall, and stopped dead in her tracks. She wasn't alone.

"Mother!"

Ursa was standing motionless at the door leading to the bedrooms, glaring at her daughter.

Azula rubbed her eyes violently, and let out a pleased sigh, given the vision was gone. Only a coat stand was waiting there silently, with a single silk cloak hanging from it. It was only the cursed moonlight that made it look like a woman.

Nevertheless, cold sweat gathered on the girl's forehead. If only this would have been the first time…

_No matter how effective it is to have two minds working in my head instead of one, the side effects are very disturbing…_

It was quite logical, after all. She shared her body with something which's habitat was the Spirit World, therefore she'd become more sensible to similar creatures. Creatures which were invisible to others were all too visible to her.

And still, her most frequent visitor was not exactly a spirit, but her mother. And what was most unnerving, that Ursa never talked to her. She was only staring…

Azula shook her head, to make the thoughts go away. She had to focus, after all…

_This is not it,_ she thought, opening the door of the first room in the hallway. _I can feel the scent of old people in there._

It must've been the next one, so she opened up the door, and looked at the objects hiding in the darkness. Entering the room, she nearly fell over a pile of dirty clothing. The one slumbering in bed and snoring softly was without doubt Zhijou: his untidiness was legendary.

Not to mention his alcoholism. The strong smell of baijiu was impossible to be hidden, not even with a dozen sandalwood incenses.

"It's a good thing he's drunk. This way they will believe everything to come was his doing" she thought.

Azula looked at the door with slight confusion, before shrugging, and sending vast balls of blue fire onto the dry wood. It has become ablaze in a mere second. The door had no lock, and she had to prevent the inevitable intervention of the young man's family. They would hear Zhijou's painful cries, no doubt.

Azula roughly estimated that the whole room would be on fire in five minutes, but it didn't really matter. It was part of her plan to burn down the house, after all.

She stood beside the sleeping man, and slapped him across the face, in order to wake him up.

But it was not so easy, given Zhijou was practically unconscious, thanks to all the booze. He merely swore under his breath, and rolled onto his side.

Azula knitted her brow at this, and she grabbed the lapel of his dressing gown. She started to shake him with all her might, which was not an easy task, because Zhijou was quite overweighed. Finally, the man sat up with a moan, and started to rub sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Whoryou" he asked Azula with a dull expression on his face. He tried to fix his sight on the adorable looking child, but failed, and a moment later he discovered the room was on fire.

He tried to get out of bed, but Azula prevented him from doing so by gripping his hairy arm with her palms, which were hot as molten.

"Stay still!" Azula hissed at the man, and she cooled her hands down, so Zhijou's yelling slowly receded. She leaned closer to Zhijou, ignoring the stench of burnt hair and of his mouth. She wanted to let him take a good glance at her face.

"You…!" exclaimed the chubby man, his tearful eyes staring at Azula's face.

"Yes, it's me" said Azula. "Now listen carefully, if you want me to let you go!"

Zhijou, whose father was Zhen Huangniu, the man who examined the naked Azula shamelessly in the morning, nodded sheepishly, and waited for his bride to continue.

"You will ask for an audience in the Palace. You can bring your father with you, if he'd survive the fire, I don't care" said Azula calmly and coldly, and she seemed not even a bit worried about the flames slowly engulfing the whole building around them. "You'll announce you had changed your mind, and you don't wish to marry me any longer. Understood?"

Zhijou failed to reply. Azula saw his masculine pride resurrecting, when looking in his eyes. It was still there somewhere, no matter how drunk and terrified he was. So she grabbed on his reddening, burnt forearm once more.

"Will you do what I just told you?" she inquired.

The young man finally begun to nod rapidly, and he shouted, while tears of pain were running down his cheeks like white water.

Azula allowed herself a victorious smile.

"See? It wasn't so hard. I wish you more luck with women for the future, my dear ex-bridegroom" Azula said, not even looking at the other person in the room while she walked to the window. "Anyway, I strongly recommend not telling anyone about the little… conversation we just had. You'd only make a fool of yourself."

She opened up the window, and took a deep breath, inhaling the relatively fresh outside air. Long black snakes escaped through the open window: acrid trails of smoke.

_So much for my first date,_ Azula thought. _I hope my father will give up soon enough. It would be quite exhausting to do this all over and over again on several occasions._

* * *

><p><strong>Darnit, it took me sooo long! But yeah, here's the last part to the three-shot. Hopefully I did not mess up Ty Lee's character. <strong>

**Please tell me, what you think, Dear Readers :)  
><strong>


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